It was only a matter of time...

OK Folks,  

Time for a little story about this Vintage Race Car that I'm involved with...

First off, this project has taken me on a little trip I would have never imagined.  Going back to the beginning when I decided to recreate this Bitchin piece of history I had no idea what it's life was beyond the 1966 photos of the car wearing it's Purple Paint and tearing up the LA strips.  

All I knew, was that it was cool and was "HANDS DOWN" my Favorite car since reading that magazine for the first time in John Shoemaker's living room at the young age of 12.  A lasting impression you might say...  This car is the epitome of a Top Fuel Dragster, and for a good solid year back in '66, this car Tore-Ass on the LA boys putting up one hell of a fight.  As the project research begins, I start to unearth what really happened with the car beyond my narrow little scope.  I learned that Dave Beebe drove for the majority of the time but, sometime in 1967 another certain someone climbed into the seat, John Mulligan.  Wow!!!  The start of the Beebe and Mulligan legacy was in this car?? Well come to find out John had been involved with the Beebe family for quite awhile and was once the driver of the little Fuel altered etc, but after the Adams, Wayre, & Mulligan AA/FD, this was his next ride. Moving on with the process of gathering pictures here and there, and all of a sudden I notice the car is much longer!

Turns out that sometime in '67 the chassis makes it's way into the shop at Huzar's and get a whole new front half. Still charging hard with ZOOK in the seat they drag it over to another guys shop for a little face lift.  Mr. Tom Hanna...  No Shit!!!  This is the first Green Car???  

Wow!!  I had no idea!  You see, I was always under the impression that the Fighting Irish deal was the one and only car that has now been brought back so perfectly by Dave West and Pat Foster?  But sure enough, as you look thru the photos and chase the time line this was car number 1...  I never knew until now.  

Then comes Phase II, or Phase IV???  Who knows...  but the the story get's interesting here!  Thanks to the tireless effort of Don Ewald's site I spent many an hour coming thru every possible photo I could drum up! Who's this guy with his head sticking up way beyond the roll bar???  Oh, why it's Leland Kolb!  

Well turns out he bought the car and after making a few blasts down the 1320 here and there he crated it up and shipped it down under!  Hmmm....  OK, so now the car is in Australia still wearing the Green Stripe paint job and still lettered as B&M!  Cool!  Surfers Paradise Dragstrip now had their very own Top Fuel Car!!  The car get’s a new roll cage and a repaint and continues to be campaigned by Peter Dykes for quite some time until one hard evening of racing in which the entire motor ejects itself from the frame in a blaze of glory!!!   The remaining car and pieces were sold that evening to and up and coming racer from the Sydney area known by the name of Jim Read.  He proceeds to completely rebuild and restore this fine machine back to 100% condition along with bringing back the Multi Green Stripe Paint job!  The car is absolutely gorgeous and continues to thrill the crowds!  

Then after a good run with Read behind the wheel, the car takes and interesting turn and is actually converted to a Rear Engine Dragster by a Mr. Fred Perrotto.  This was a drastic change to this once beautiful machine and it certainly signaled the beginning of the end for this now ultra famous and well traveled car.  After a short and kinda unclear stint under the control of Mr. Perrotto the car was purchased by a fella named Rod Bradshaw.  Rod was ready to set the world on fire with his new acquisition, but after dragging it home and giving it the once over it just wasn’t going to work....  So rather than tossing more money at the tired old beast the decision was made to end it’s life and move on.  Thankfully...  Oh Thankfully...  Everything was unbolted from the chassis before the next move.  The chassis was hauled over to the Local Dumps in Syndney, known as Holroyd Gardens today, and tossed into the pit.  Here’s the last remaining shots of the car while it was at Rod’s house.

 

Well there you have it,  the short history from beginning to end on this ultra Bitchin piece of Drag Racing history.  The part that blows my mind is how much impact this car had on the Racing community not only in the So-Cal area but across the US and then onto the other side of the world after it’s move to Australia.  So many faces, and so many places it just goes on and on...  

Now for the BIG NEWS!  After many years in isolation, tucked away alongside brush saws, blow torches, and other associated trinkets we have recovered the original front axle from the CAR!!!!!

Here’s a quote from Rod I received via email sometime last night:

"THE  AXLE  HAS  LEFT  THE  BUILDING".    Bob came over last night to pick up the axle.  It`s now travelled from Pendle Hill, right passed the chassis "burial site" and over to Bobs house at Ashfield  - it`s on it`s way.   I feel it`s like a real homecoming for the axle.

The key, is that this front axle has been there for the entire journey and now thanks to these great folks it’s coming home and will be mated with the parts I have been working so hard to scavenge and round up!  I’m driving to LA late Sunday night and will be meeting a member of the Qantas airlines team who has volunteered to hand carry this thing back to me vs. risking shipment and the unthinkable possibility of loosing this item!

Big News???  Ah Yeah....  Like out of this world kinda shit....  

The construction can now begin!

Fire the next pair...

Robert M.